Rock the Lake sticks to limits on sound levels

Sound levels at the Rock the Lake festival in Kelowna on the weekend were below the city-specified maximums, officials say.

Lower decibel limits were imposed on festival organizers this year in response to complaints about the noise of last year’s concert.

“Early indications are that everything went well,” Doug Nicholas, of the city’s sport and event services department, said Monday. “They did follow the reduced noise decibel levels that we put on them.”

The city had personnel around the Prospera Place concert site to monitor sound levels produced by the concert.

As of Monday morning, Nicholas wasn’t aware of the city receiving any complaints about the noise of the three-day outdoor rock concert, which featured Canadian bands from the 1980s such as Toronto, Honeymoon Suite and Helix.

Although Rock the Lake organizers have already begun promoting next summer’s concert, the city hasn’t yet issued the necessary permit for the event. That will depend on the outcome of upcoming discussions between city officials and the concert promoters.

“They were very good to work with,” Nicholas said of the organizers. “We’re very supportive of the event, and we’ll continue to work with the organizers through the permitting process.”

Maximum sound levels for the concert were to be between 95 and 100 decibels, with occasional peaks of 105 decibels.

Last year, the maximum range was set at 100-105 decibels, with occasional peaks of 110 decibels.